The Pittsburgh Pirates are using Gregory Polanco at leadoff tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers. Is this just a cameo, or a search for a spark?
When the Pittsburgh Pirates released their lineup for tonight’s tilt vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, the leadoff spot was manned by an unfamiliar face.
Here's our lineup for today.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/WEQQWg36ix
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 20, 2016
Yes, tonight will be the first time that Gregory Polanco will bat leadoff in 2016 after spending considerable time at the spot in previous years. In 2015, Polanco took 460 plate appearances at the number one slot, more than four times as many as he did at number two, his 2nd most popular locale.
Why would manager Clint Hurde move one of his most productive run producers to the top of the lineup?
Can’t start a fire without a spark
Put simply, the Pittsburgh Pirates might need a spark at leadoff. The performance by Pirates leadoff men has been up and down by most counts, but this is especially true in July.
| BOP | G | PA | AB | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | GDP | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 24 | 117 | 104 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 21 | 4 | .288 | .353 | .413 | .767 |
| 1 | 5 | 27 | 126 | 113 | 37 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 3 | .327 | .389 | .487 | .876 |
| 1 | 6 | 28 | 134 | 120 | 31 | 8 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 21 | 2 | .258 | .331 | .400 | .731 |
| 1 | 7 | 14 | 67 | 62 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 3 | .210 | .269 | .274 | .543 |
NOTE: in this graph, ‘4,5,6,7 refer to April, May, June, July respectively
For a team that relied heavily on an on-base centric approach to start the year, the ability to get on base – a core competency of a conventional leadoff hitter – seems to have completely left the team in July. The team’s incumbent leadoff hitter against right-handers – John Jaso – has seen a precipitous drop in his production, with a .220/.304/.240 slashine over the last 28 days.
Polanco posted a .719 OPS when hitting leadoff in 2015. Though he got on base at just a .328 clip, Hurdle may be counting on Polanco’s newfound maturity to provide better on-base results at the top spot.
One very odd quirk of Pirates leadoff hitters – they have a far better OPS (.834) from the spot in losses than they do in wins (.675).
Line em up
Of course, inserting Polanco at the top of the lineup card also reunites the Pittsburgh Pirates’ outfield trio at the plate. Polanco, Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen were electric at times in 2015 when batting in this configuration, and Hurdle may be looking to rekindle some magic.
Polanco looked to have no ill effects from his hamstring issue in his return last night. Perhaps this move will also jumpstart the Pirates on the basepaths, and not just in stolen base totals. Polanco leads the team with 24 doubles, and Marte is not far behind with 20. Jaso is no slouch with 14, but the ability to find gaps and get into scoring position with one swing would tempt any manager to put a solid hitter like Polanco up top.
We’ll have to await word from Hurdle on whether or not this move is a one-game experiment, or something we could see more of down the stretch. For now, this is a very exciting development for Pittsburgh Pirates fans.
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